Peanut Butter Graham-Bams [Peanut Butter Graham Cookies]

Sometimes I like to name my creations. Don’t ask me how I came up with Graham-Bam, it just came to me while I was making and eating these delicious little babies. It seemed fitting for the excitement and happiness that went into making/eating them, so Graham-Bams it was.

I came up with the idea because I love love love peanut butter on graham crackers as a snack. I have since I was little. It’s just the perfect combination of carby crunchy sweetness with smooth peanut butter goodness on top. Ugh. Perfection.

So then it hit me that it was possible and definitely the best idea ever to grind up some graham crackers into a flour using a food processor. I mean, why the hell not? It adds a great texture and sweetness, and that distinct graham-y flavor we all know and love so much. MmmmMmMmMmm. I added some oat flour to give them a little more bounce and fluffiness, and the rest is history.

I’d like to take a moment to clarify that I do, indeed, drink almond milk out of mason jars and that I didn’t just do it for the photos. I went to NYU after all. What do you expect? #hip. Back to the cookies, these babies are soft, fluffy little nuggets of joy with a strong peanut-butter-graham-and-flavor. Exactly what I wanted. Simple and delicious. I almost added chocolate chips at the end, but then opted to not. You could if you want. It would be a great idea. But sometimes, just sometimes, I want a straight up softy peanut butter cookie with the criss-cross hatch marks like I had when I was growing up. And if you’ve read my blog or have known me for more than a week, you know I’m a sucker for nostalgia.

So this morning, I whipped these up. They are fast. They are easy. They are one-bowl and require no fancy equipment or ingredients. Aka cookies go from non-eexistent to fresh out of the oven / into your face while still all warm and gooey in less than 40 minutes. Which is sometimes, in a complicated world, the most perfect thing you could ask for.

If you love peanut butter and graham crackers as much as I do, you need to make these. If you don’t yet love it as much as I do, you need to make these so I can change your mind about one of the world’s most perfect pairings. Happy eating!

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup graham cracker flour (made from approximately a sleeve and a half of graham crackers in food processor)

3/4 cup rolled oats (or 3/4 cup oat flour)

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

granulated sugar for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, place almond milk + vinegar together and allow to sit/curdle for at least 10 minutes. This is your pseduo-buttermilk.

2. In a food processor, break up about a sleeve and a half of graham crackers and pulse until a flour forms. You may need to push down crackers/mix with a spoon halfway through. Place in a large bowl, measure one cup, and set aside.

3. If you don’t have oat flour, make some using rolled oats. Place in food processor and pulse until a flour forms. Measure 3/4 cup and add to graham flour.

4. Add baking soda, salt, brown sugar, peanut butter and almond milk + vinegar mixture. Mix until a cookie-dough like dough forms. It may be a tad bit sticky. If it is, add a dash more oat or graham or regular flour.

5. Scoop small balls (approximately one inch in diameter) onto an ungreased baking sheet. Press a cross-hatch pattern into each cookie using the back of a fork.

6. Pop into the oven and back for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly browned around the edges and puffy. Allow to cool slightly before trying to eat. If they are too hot your impatience will be a hot beautiful mess in front of you: